I3l<* 


OF  THE 


BUILDINGS  NEAR  THE  SQUARE  IN  THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO. 


(OCCASIONAL  PAPER  NTTMREK  ONE 


NEW  YORK  : 

THOMAS  WHITTAKER.  No.  2  BIBLE  HOUSE. 


fORK 


or  THE 


The  Mexican  Branch  of  the  Church  is  seeking  to  do  its 
Christian  work  with  great  economy.  To  continue  an  impor¬ 
tant  part  of  that  work,  generous  contributions  in  its  behalf 
from  Christians  in  other  lands  are  pressingly  needed. 

With  the  cordial  approval  of  the  Mexican  Commission  of 
Bishops,  a  “  League  in  aid  of  the  Mexican  Branch  of  the 
Church  ”  has  been  organized. 

Contributions — whether  large  or  small — in  aid  of  the  work 
of  that  Branch  of  the  Church,  are  earnestly  solicited,  and  can 
be  mailed  directly  to  the  address  of  the  treasurer  of  “  The 
League,”  Miss  M.  A.  Stewart  Brown,  care  of  Messrs.  Brown 
Brothers  &  Co.,  59  Wall  St.,  New  York,  U.  S. 

Persons  sending  contributions  to  the  League,  who  may 
desire  to  have  their  gifts  forwarded  to  Mexico  through 
any  of  the  other  church  societies,  are  requesred  to  state  their 
wish  when  sending  their  contributions,  as  otherwise  they  are 
disbursed  directly  by  the  Central  Board  of  the  League  in 
New  York  through  its  treasurer,  and  the  treasurer  of  the 
Church  in  Mexico,  Albert  E.  Mackintosh,  Esq. 


3 


The  friends  of  the  work  of  the  Church  in  Mexico  are 
asked  to  read  the  following  translation  of  two  petitions  from 
the  Republic  of  Mexico  : 

Sr.  Don  Henry  C.  Riley. 

Puebla  de  Zaragoza  (Mexico), 
September ,  1876. 

Beloved  Brother  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ: 

We,  the  subscribers,  desiring  that  the  Holy  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  be  known  everywhere,  and  very  speci¬ 
ally  so  in  this  sadly  unfortunate  city  of  Puebla,  the  victim  for 
so  many  years  of  the  most  fearful  idolatry,  have  not  hesitated 
to  send  you  our  most  urgent  petition,  asking  you,  in  the  name 
of  Jesus,  our  divine  Saviour,  to  give  directions  that  the  public 
worship  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  be  again  established  in  this 
city. 

We  know  that  you  only  desire  the  propagation  of  the  sub¬ 
lime  doctrine  of  Christ  crucified  ;  therefore,  in  the  name  of 
that  divine  Jesus,  we  beseech  you  to  grant  us  our  petition. 

As  yet,  dear  brother,  only  those  of  us  have  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  light  of  the  Holy  Gospel  who  have  not  the 
pecuniary  means  needed  to  meet  the  expenses  of  public  worship, 
but  we  cherish  the  bright  hope  that  the  day  will  soon  come 
when  we  shall  count  in  our  congregation  persons  who  may  be 
able  to  contribute  towards  the  necessary  expenses  of  a  church 
building.  At  present,  Mr.  Riley,  we  can  only  turn  to  you,  re¬ 
minding  you  that  it  was  you  who  came  to  organize  in  the 
capital  of  our  Republic  the  Holy  Church  of  Jesus;  you  who 
first  sent  a  mission  to  this  city  of  Puebla.  Although  that  mis¬ 
sion  was  cruelly  attacked  and  scattered,  yet  you  did  not  hesitate 
to  again  send  a  person  commissioned  to  make  known  among 
us  the  light  of  the  truth. 

This  interest  that  you  have  shown  in  behalf  of  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  this  city — your  kindness  in  sending  us,  even  at  the 


4 


risk  of  great  personal  danger,  ministers  from  the  church  in  the 
capital — encourages  us  to  hope  that  you  will  listen  to  our  just 
petition,  seeing  that  i  s  object  is  the  propagation  of  the  Holy 
Gospel,  of  whose  truths  you  are  one  of  the  most  zealous 
preachers. 

To-day  we  find  ourselves  without  a  building  in  which  to 
worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  and  many  of  us  in  our 
homes,  together  with  our  families,  celebrate  short  services.  It 
is  true  that  our  most  loving  Saviour  Jesus  listens  to  us  every¬ 
where  ;  but  we  also  desire  to  have  among  us  a  person  able  to 
instruct  us,  and  to  help  us  by  his  preaching  to  understand  the 
true  sense  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

We  believe,  dear  brother,  that  you  will  feel  the  urgent  ne¬ 
cessity  there  is  to  use  every  possible  means,  that  we  may  soon 
see  the  pure  light  of  the  Gospel  shining  in  all  its  splendor  in 
this  city,  and  dispelling  that  blind  fanaticism,  the  origin  of  many 
of  the  misfortunes  of  our  native  land. 

In  the  name  of  that  divine  Saviour,  who  wills  that  the  sin¬ 
ner  should  be  converted  and  live,  we  beseech  you,  who  can  do 
so  much  for  us,  to  soon  grant  us  our  petition. 

May  the  love  of  the  Father,  the  grace  of  the  Son, 
and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  and 
with  us  all. 

(Signed  by  the) 

Gospel  Society  of  the  Mexican  Branch  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus,  Established  in  Puebla. 

President ,  Juan  Romero. 

Vice-President ,  Jose  Maria  de  la  Fuente. 

Secretary ,  Tomas  Neyar. 

Second  Secretary ,  Santos  Gutierrez. 

Treasurer ,  Sabino  Escalona. 


5 


Andres  Luna  Echavarria. 

Domingo  Garcia. 

Tomas  Abundiz  Gonzales. 

Antonio  Losa. 

Jose  Ma.  Suarez. 

Enrique  Ramirez. 

Tomas  Hernandez. 

T.  de  Romero. 

Tenoro  Romero. 

Je.  de  la  Luz  Romero. 

Camilo  Ruiz. 

Enrique  Barero. 

Enrique  Benitez. 

Juan  Vabreda. 

Jose  Ma.  Vabreda. 

Pedro  Sanchez. 

Eduardo  Rosete. 

Antonio  Lara. 

Margarito  Perez. 

Marselino  Torres. 

Tranquilino  Escobar. 

Jose  Ma.  Ortiz. 

Manuel  Serrano. 

Fco.  Nera. 

Juan  Gutierrez. 

Antonio  Camacho. 

F.  Pino. 

Senorita  Ma.  Rosa  Dominguez  y  de 
la  Fuente. 

Senorita  Agustina  Altamirano. 

“  Juana  Jimenez. 

“  Soledad  Leon  de  Escalona. 


Senorita  Luz  Romero  de  Hernan 
dez. 

Senorita  Dolores  Telles. 

Senora  Gabriela  N.  de  Gutierrez. 
Senorita  Mariana  Villegas. 

“  Ocotlan  Mena. 

“  Plasida  Galindo. 

'*  Micaida  Villegas. 

“  Pilar  Cabrera. 

Senora  Angel  Barreli. 

“  Ursula  Palacios. 

Senorita  Eut'emia  Olvera. 

“  Carmen  Olvera. 

Senora  Trinidad  Perez. 

Dolores  de  la  Fuente  (girl). 
Concepcion  de  la  Fuente  (girl). 
Elisa  de  la  Fuente  (girl). 

Ester  de  la  Fuente  (girl). 

Eulalia  Galban  Serrano. 

Sofia  Serrano  (girl) 

Concepcion  Serrano. 

Beatriz  Camacho  (girl). 

Laura  Camacho  (girl). 

Manuel  Serrano  (bov). 

Enrique  Serrano  (boy). 

J.  Hernandez  (boy). 

Santiago  Coronao  (boy). 

Alberto  Vega. 

Antonio  Prieto. 

Eduardo  Castillo. 

Luis  G.  Prieto. 


PETITION  FROM  RAMON  BETANCOURT. 

“  Respected  Brethren  :  Trusting  to  the  sentiments  that 
prompt  you  to  do  what  you  can  in  behalf  of  those  who  are 
working  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  I  address  myself  to  you 
in  the  hope  that  you  will  now  render  me  such  a  favor  as  you 
have  already  shown  me  on  another  occasion. 

“  I  have  the  pleasure  of  informing  you  that  having  arrived 
in  this  city  on  the  27th  of  last  December,  God  has  so  aided  me 
in  my  work  here,  that  by  the  2 2d  of  February,  I  was  enabled 
to  gather  a  congregation  numbering  seventy -live  heads  oj 


6 


families,  as  is  recorded  in  a  document  signed  by  those  persons, 
which  document  I  forwarded  to  the  cathedral  chapter  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  in  the  City  of  Mexico. 

“  The  attendance  at  our  services  has  been  growing  more  and 
more  numerous?.  We  need  Bibles ,  in  order  that  our  brethren 
here  may  become  fully  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  of  Christ. 

“  At  present  we  only  have  two  copies  of  the  Bible  among 
us  —  one,  which  is  kept  in  our  place  of  public  worship;  the 
other,  a  small  one,  with  which  I  call  on  the  members  of  this 
congregation,  reading  it  to  them  in  their  private  houses. 

“  You  who  know  how  indispensable  it  is  to  have  copies 
of  the  Bible  in  order  to  work  effectively  in  the  cause  of  the 
Lord  will,  I  trust,  furnish  us  with  the  number  of  copies  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  that  you  may  deem  proper,  and  may  God 
Almighty  bless  you.  I  close  with  the  wish  that  the  grace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  com¬ 
munion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  always. 

“  (Signed)  Ramon  Betancourt.” 

“Vera  Cruz,  May,  1877.” 


The  friends  of  the  work  of  the  Church  in  Mexico  are  also 
asked  to  read  the  accompanying  extract  from  a  letter  from  a 
former  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Communion,  New 
York,  Miss  Anna  Grut,  who  has  for  more  than  two  years  been 
faithfully  laboring  for  the  Master  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  in 
connection  with  the  Mexican  Branch  of  the  Church. 

EXTRACT. 

“  I  pray  to  God  daily  that  the  salaries  of  our  ministers  may 
be  increased  from  forty  to  fifty  dollars  per  month.  Those  who 
are  married  have  just  enough  to  provide  for  their  table  with  the 
greatest  economy,  pay  house-rent,  and  other  small  necessary 
expenses,  but  have  not  even  a  dollar  left  to  buy  clothes,  so 
that  they  do  not  actually  know  what  they  shall  do  to  provide 
them  when  needed.  Mr.  Herrera  (one  of  our  deacons-elect)  has 
only  thirty-five  dollars  per  month.  His  wife  told  me  the  othei 


7 


day  that  they  needed  clothes  very  much,  but  had  not  a  cent 
to  dispose  of  for  the  purpose.  I  tried  to  console  her  by 
saying  that  God  would  provide  for  us  all,  and  that  by  and  by 
she  would  be  better  off.  “  (Signed) 

“  Anna  Grut.” 


Rectors  of  churches  are  earnestly  asked  to  aid  the  work 
of  the  Church  in  Mexico  by  imparting  information  about  it — 
by  encouraging  their  congregations  and  Sunday-schools  to 
contribute  in  its  behalf — and  by  naming  committees  as  branches 
of  the  League  in  their  parishes. 

The  officers  of  the  “  League  ”  are: 

o 

President : 

Mrs.  Fordyce  Barker,  85  Madison  Ave.,  N.  Y. 

Vice-President : 

Miss  A.  E.  Tweddle,  107  E.  Thirty-sixth  St.,  N.  Y 
Corresponding  Secretary  : 

Miss  C.  A.  Hamilton,  17  Wot  Twentieth  St.,  New  York,  U.  S. 

Recording  Secretary : 

Mrs.  Heman  Dyer,  32  St.  Mark’s  Place,  N.  Y. 

Treasurer  : 

Miss  M.  A.  Stewart  Brown,  21  West  Thirty-fourth  Street,  N.  Y. 

Care  of  Messrs.  Brown  Brothers  &  Co.,  59  Wall  Street,  New  York,  U.  S. 


Please  remember  that  contributions  —even  the  smallest — 
can  be  mailed  directly  to  the  address  of  the  Treasurer  of  the 
“  League,”  and  that  immediate  aid  is  pressingly  needed. 


Note. — Persons  who  may  be  willing  to  aid  the  work  of  the  Church  in 
Mexico  by  circulating  this  pamphlet,  are  asked  to  send  for  whatever  number 
of  copies  of  the  same  they  may  want  for  that  purpose  to  my  address, 

H.  CHAUNCEY  RILEY, 

No.  7  West  16  th  Street, 


NEW  YORK,  U.  S. 


